Read Online Wintercraft: Blackwatch by Jenna Burtenshaw - Free Book Online Page B

but if Baltin thought there was something wrong it was best for her to play along. She shook her head.
     
    ‘This is worse than I thought,’ said Baltin. ‘You have to talk to him, Kate. You have to stop him. Whatever he’s doing. He has to stop.’
     
    ‘Who?’
     
    ‘Silas Dane.’
     
    ‘You saw Silas?’ Kate asked. ‘Here?’
     
    ‘Who else could have attacked me?’
     
    ‘Silas wouldn’t do this,’ said Kate. ‘Not here. He wouldn’t risk being seen.’
     
    ‘He’s done a lot worse,’ said Edgar.
     
    ‘But why Baltin? And why bother tying him up? Silas wouldn’t do that. It wouldn’t serve any purpose. It can’t be him.’
     
    ‘No one else knows how to find this cavern. He’s the only one who …’ Baltin’s voice tailed off, and he looked anxiously around the shadowed room. ‘He’s already in here, isn’t he?’
     
    ‘You have the only key to that door,’ said Kate. ‘There’s no one else in here.’
     
    ‘You’re lying,’ said Baltin. ‘You’re protecting him. Why is he here? What does he want?’
     
    Kate grabbed a lit candle and circuited the room, lighting up every space the flame could reach. ‘See?’ she said. ‘No one’s here.’
     
    ‘Then he is still outside. You brought him here. I have to warn people. Get out of my way!’ Baltin pushed Edgar aside and peered out of the top keyhole. ‘It’s too late,’ he whispered.
     
    Kate stepped forward and looked out for herself. From the lowest keyhole she could see right down to the illuminated archway of the meeting hall. There was no one out there. Everything was quiet. But when she looked out of the one Baltin had used, it was blocked and black.
     
    ‘He’s right outside,’ whispered Baltin.
     
    ‘No one is out there,’ said Kate. ‘There’s something stuck on the door, that’s all.’ She did not stop to think about what that something might be as she opened the door, ignoring Baltin’s protests, and peered round it. A large piece of black-edged paper had been pinned over the lock, and she noticed at least a dozen others spread around the cavern. Most of them were scattered loose on the floor, but a handful had been pinned to a few doors. She pulled the paper down as Edgar joined her outside.
     
    ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘What does it say?’
     
    Kate looked at the blood-red letters scrawled thickly on the page.
     
    You have our demands.
Deliver what we require.
     
     
    There was a mark printed at the top of the page – a pair of crossed daggers with two letters underneath. BW .
     
    ‘It has to be the wardens,’ said Kate. ‘What does BW mean?’
     
    But Edgar was already gone. He was back inside the lockhouse, stopping Baltin from leaving the room. ‘The person who attacked you,’ he said. ‘Did he say anything?’
     
    ‘Move aside, boy.’
     
    ‘Did he give any names? Anything?’
     
    ‘The veil has drawn back,’ said Baltin, looking at Edgar as if he was losing his mind. ‘Silas Dane is responsible for this, and he will be stopped. Nothing else matters now.’
     
    ‘No. This is nothing to do with Silas,’ said Edgar.
     
    ‘And how do you know that?’
     
    ‘Because of this.’ Edgar stabbed a finger into the mark on the poster. ‘Haven’t you heard of the Blackwatch before?’
     
    ‘I don’t have time to listen to this,’ said Baltin. ‘We all know what is going on here.’
     
    ‘You have to listen! When I worked for the High Council people would find posters like these outside the council chambers every few months. The Blackwatch are part of the Continental army. The person who attacked you tonight was probably a runner. The Blackwatch send them to Albion now and again to remind the High Council that they can send assassins to their door at any time and to let them know that the Continent is not just going to go away. Sometimes they bring demands, other times they just spread their posters and go. The wardens used to do a good job of covering it up